Ševčík made his debut with A Prominent Patient[+leggi anche: recensionetrailerscheda film], which was first introduced at the Berlinale and went on to win 12 Czech Lion Awards (see the news), with Karel Roden playing the lead role. Ševčík’s second feature is based on the Man Booker Prize-nominated book of the same name by Simon Mawer, adapted for the big screen by Andrew Shaw.

At the centre of the film is the Villa Tugendhat, a landmark situated in the second largest Czech city of Brno, which serves not only as the story’s setting, but also as a distinctive character. The historical drama that sees three love stories unfold inside the villa takes place over the course of the most dramatic moments of the 20th century. The producers have stated that the movie “connects a period story full of twists and dynamic time shifts with a highly visual, poetic and timeless work of art”, adding that The Glass Room is “a saga of one villa”, while the film’s novelty value apparently lies in “its perspective on history set against the backdrop of an architectonic gem”.

The picture was shot in the actual villa designed by Ludwig van der Rohe, which is listed among UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. Ida[+leggi anche: recensionetrailerscheda film] and Cold War[+leggi anche: recensionetrailerscheda film] editor Jaroslaw Kaminski edited the film, while Spanish composer Javier Naverrete, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the music on Pan’s Labyrinth[+leggi anche: recensionetrailerscheda film], composed the score. The Glass Room was available for distributors to purchase during this year’s European Film Market in Berlin.

The Glass Room was produced by Rudolf Biermann (IN Film), and co-produced by Czech Television (via creative producer Helena Uldrichová), Investito and Slovak television channel Joj. The project was supported by the City of Brno, JET Investment, the Czech Film Fund and Creative Europe. Due to its international potential, the film was shot in the English language, while a version dubbed into Czech will be released in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bioscop and Garfield Film are handling the Czech and Slovakian distribution, respectively, releasing the film in local theatres on 14 March.